Knitting-machine.



W. A. AINSWORTH.

KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I. 1915.

IutentcdSepl. 1E), 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

egi-

W. A. AINSWORTH.

KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Dic. I. |915.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

UNITED sTATEsIi'rENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. AINSWORTH, OF UTICA, N'W YORK, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 CARL N.

MATHER, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. I

KNI'rrING-MACHINE.

Patented sept. 19, 191e.

Application filed December 1, 19115. Serial No. 64,564.

To'aZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. AINS- WORTH, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knitting-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description o the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the'art to which it appertains to make and use the Same.

This invention relates to a-knitting machine.

The object and purpose of the invention is to provide means in connection with the cam carriages and knitting beds of knitting machines of the flat type for positively actuating the needles to depress them into inoperative position when such result is desired, the means serving in 'no manner to effect the operation of those-needles which are elevated in the position to. be operated on by the camscarried by the movable cam carriage. construction disclosed in the accompanying drawings showing for purposes of illustration the invention used in'connection with needle beds and pattern chains similar to those shown in prior applications tiled by Elihu Lippitt, SerialNos. 2925 and 2926, both filed on the 18th day of January, 1915. For an understanding of my invention and the preferred embodiment thereof, referencemay be had t the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a transverse section taken through the upper part of a fiat knitting machine with one of the needle beds equipped with my invention to show its construction and operation. Fig. 2 shows in Y side elevation a link of the pattern chain.

Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively an end view and an elevation of the roller attached to the cam carriage for depressing the. needles. Fig. 5 is a section taken through a needle bed illustrating the action of the roller in passing over a needle lwhich is elevated by the pattern chain. Fig. 6 is a similar view through the needle bed showing the lower position of the needles as they appear when out of the path of movement of the cams on the carriage. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of one of the guides for the needles; and Fig.

To this end I have provided thel 8 is a fragmentary end view of the lower end of a needle bed.

Like reference characters' refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the construction of the needle bed there is provided a base plate 1 which is attached permanently to the body of the knitting machine to the rigid supports 2 and 3 as shown in Fig. l, the bed being positioned at an angleto the horizontal and vertical. This plate is cut with a plurality of slots onits upper side in which the lower edges of guide plates 4 seat, each of said guides being. formed at its upper end with w hook 5 which hooks over the upper. edge 6 of plate 1 and on its underside toward the lower end Iof the partition with a projection 7 which passes into a slot 8 cut lengthwise of the plate At lts lower end each guide 4 has a portIon removedto make the'- substantial rectangular notch 9 which receives a bar 10 formed with a plurality of projections on its -forward face 'adapted to pass between the ends of parts 4 to hold them in rigid relation with respect to each other. Each guide 4 is also formed on its upper side and substantially midway between its ends with an enlargement 11 in which is cut a slot 12, a

bar 13 being adapted to seat in the slots of the guides to hold them at their middle points spaced apart and in rigid relation to each other. There is'also provided adjacent the upper end of each guide 4 an ear 14, a rod 15 passing through'all of said ears and each guide is further provided with an inclined slot 16 very close to its upper end, a hardened bar 17 passing' through the slots of all of the guides and serving as a bearing for the upper ends of the needles 18, one

of which is located in the space between two adjacent guides 4 and is guided in its move- -ment thereby. Each needle is formed with an upward projection 19 which in the lowermost position of the needle lies below the upper edge of its adjacent guides 4. The lower end of each needle rests upon a jack 20 formed with a projection 21 extending through the slot 8 in base plate 1 and a distance below the plate, and with an upward Iprojection at the lower end of the jack against which the lower end of the needle rests.

The construction of the needle bed so far described is a preferred construction and one with which ymy invention has been incorporated in practice though it is to be understood that any needle bed having upwardly projecting guide plates whether separable as described or integral with the base plate 1, may be used so far as the present invention is concerned.

In knitting machines of the flat type a cam carriage is mounted aboveeach needle bed and is movable above and lengthwise of the bed. This carriage is illustrated at 23 and carries on its underside immediately above projections 19 of the needles cams 24 which serve to move the needles back and forth between guiding plates 4 into and away fr om Y the throat of the machine. lVhen the projection 19 of a needle is below the guide plates 4 it is out of the way of cams 24 and no movement' of the needle takes place when the cam carriage passes thereover.

A drum 25 is mounted below each needle bed and on it a pattern chain is mounted consisting in the present instance of a plurality of endless chains made up of links 26 connected end to end, some of whichfare provided with projecting portions 27 while others as shown at 26il have no such projection. Each link is formed on its underside with a projection 28 adapted to enter a groove 29 in the drum so that as the drum rotates the chain is carried around it. An endless chain of this character is formed for each needle in the bed and the adjacent chains are connected together by rods 30 which pass through openings in adjacent contacting links. As the drum is rotated in the operation of the machine and a projection 27 on a link engages with a projection 21 on a jack, the jack is elevated raising the part 19 of a needle into the path of v movement of the cams 24 as will be readily understood. The particular type of pattern device is also not essential for the working ofv my invention but the present one is shown as a preferred type and one with which the invention in practice has been used. Y

Each guide 4 at a point near its lower end is cut away to provide a notchv31 in its upper surface as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. This notch is below the projection 19 on the needles. The plurality of notches in all of the guides 4 form a groove in which a roller 32 mounted at the lower end of a bracket 33 may move back and forthg'the bracket being attached to the cam carriage by means of a screw 34 passing through a slot 35 in the bracket. The upper end of the bracket is formed with a pin 36 which may pass upwardly through an opening in the support 37 attached to the carriage 23 and a coil spring 38 surroundsthe upper end of bracket 33 entering a sleeve 39 which 'tuatedby cams 24 as they pass.

is secured to the support 37 as shown in Fig. 1, there being provided by this construction a limited movement of the roller 32 so that as it passes through the groove made by slots 31 it may yield if necessary under certain conditions.

In knitting various patterns on the knitting machine different needles carried on the knitting bed will be intermittently raised and lowered and will be intermittently actuated by the cams 24. After a projection 37 on a link has passed a projection 21 on its associated jack, it is essential that the needle which has been elevated by this jack shall lower into inoperative posi` tion. This is effected positively by the passage of the roller 32 throughthe groove made by slots 31. At the same time many needles in the bed will still remain in elevated position and the roller can pass over the lower ends of these needles without interfering with their operation and actua` tion by the cams 24, this being evident by reference to Fig. 5 in which the action of the roller in passing over an elevated needle is shown. The spring structure of the needle permits it to bend over the forward end of the jack, the jack turning about a fulcrum at the lower end of projection 21 so that the lower end of the needle is depressed suiiiciently for the passage of the roller afterwhich the spring of the needle returns it to original position and with its projection elevated so that the needle will be ac- Accordingly any needle which .has been elevated and should depress is forced downwardly into inoperative position but any needle which is elevated and should remain elevated is not affected by the passage of the roller. This depression of the needles when required is positive and unfailing, a result which heretofore has been attemptedby placing springs between the bar 13 and the upper sides of the needles but which so far as positive action in every instance cannot be relied upon and in which the breakage of the springs has been a source of constant annoyance and expense.

It is of course understood that many changes in constructive detail may be resorted to without departing from my invention. The notch at 31.may be of any suitable shape and formation to receive the roller and instead of the roller, any equivalent means may be used to passl through the f groove formed by notches 31 to depress the needles. Various equivalent structures for performing this function will readily occur to others skilled in the art. Accordingly the construction shown While of a preferred formation and one that has been demontion ratherl than limiting it to any precise strated to be' practical is to'be considered as ,diagrammatic and illustrative of the invenconstruction other than called for by the terms of the claims which define the inven-v tion.

1. In a knitting machine, a needle bed comprised of a base and a plurality of upstanding guides thereon, each of the guides being formed with a notch in its upper side near one end, a plurality of needles movably mounted between the guides, a pattern device movably mounted below the needle bed, means interposed between said device and the needles for elevating different ones of the needles at different times, a, carriage mounted above the needles and movable lengthwise back and forth over the needle bed, means thereon for moving the elevated needles back and forth between their guides, and means carried by thecarriage to traverse the groove formed by the notches in the guides, said means bearing against and pressing the needles down as it passes thereover.

2. In a knitting machine, a needle bed including a pluralityI of parallel vertically disposed guides, a plurahty of needleson the bed, one between each pair of adjacent guides, means for intermittently elevating the needles, wholly or in part, a carnage mounted for lengthwise movements of ,the bed above said bed, means carried by the carriage for engaging with the elevated needles to move them back and forth between their guides, and means carried by the carriage to force the elevated needles into lower posit-ion when the elevating means therefor becomes inoperative.

3. In a knitting .machine, a flat needle bed having guides thereon, needles mounted between the guides, and normally located in a lower position, means for intermittently elevating and releasing the needles, a car' riage movable over the bed, and means carried by the carriage normally tending to force the needles to said lower position as the carriage passes over the bed, substantially as described.

el. In a knitting machine, a fiat needle bed having transverse guides extending upwardly therefrom, said guides each having anotch cut in its upper edge adjacent one end thereof, a carriage movable over the bed,

-a roller mounted belou7 the carriage and movable back and forth over the 'guides through said notches, a needle located between each pair of adjacent guides and means to intermittently elevate and release the needle. substantially as described.

back and forth therewith through theA notches in the guides, means to yieldingly secure said device to the carriage to permit a limited upward movement thereof, a plurality of needles mounted one between each pair of adjacent guides, and means for intermittently elevating and releasing the neef' dles, substantially as described.

6. In a knitting machine, a needle bed including parallel guides each having a notch cut in its outer edge, needles movably mounted between the guides, means to move the needles to project a part thereof beyond the outer edges of the guides, a carriage movable over the bed, devices thereon for engaging with said projecting parts of the Aneedles to move them back and forth, a

bracket secured to the carriage and extending toward the needle bed, yielding means forcing the bracket toward the bed, and a roller mounted on the 'bracket passing through the notches in the guides as the carriage moves over the` bed, substantially asdescribed.

7. In a knitting machine, a needle bed having guides thereon, needles mounted between the guides, av carriage movable over, the bed having means for actuating the needles, and means operating periodically and engaging with the needles vtending to force them below the edges of the guides.

8. In a. knitting machine,-a needle bed having guides thereon, needles mounted between the guides and normally located within the outer edges of said guides, means t0 intermittently move the needles outwardly so that a portion of a needle projects beyond said guides, a carriage movable `over the bed, means thereon for engaging with said outwardly moved needles to operate them back and forth between the guides, and

meansA to periodically operate against the needles tending to force them wlthin the confines of the guides, and bending those 'needles held in outer position as it operates 

